Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — Dozens of activist groups, emboldened by recent policy shifts at major U.S. restaurants, are demanding Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants change its food and labour practices. Their sweeping agenda, part of a campaign called “Good Food Now,” includes calls for the nation’s largest full-service restaurant operator to strengthen its antibiotics […] Read more
Activists press Olive Garden on antibiotics, worker pay
Investor group launches campaign to curb antibiotic use in food
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Fifty-four large investors managing one trillion pounds (C$1.84 trillion) in assets have launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry used by 10 large U.S. and British restaurant groups. McDonalds and JD Wetherspoon were among those to receive a March 15 letter from institutions including Aviva Investors […] Read more
McDonald’s sales beat as all-day breakfast a hit
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. reported better-than-expected quarterly same-restaurant sales as the launch of all-day breakfasts proved to be a hit with diners in the U.S. and demand continued to recover in China. The world’s biggest restaurant chain’s shares jumped 3.4 per cent in premarket trading on Monday. McDonald’s introduced all-day breakfasts in October in the […] Read more
Taco Bell to switch to cage-free eggs after 2016, ahead of rivals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — Taco Bell said on Monday its more than 6,000 U.S. fast-food restaurants would stop using eggs laid by caged hens by Jan. 1, 2017, years ahead of the deadlines set by its bigger rivals. The announcement came amid mounting pressure on Taco Bell to remove artificial ingredients, to source products […] Read more
McDonald’s Canada to tighten antibiotic policy for chicken
Reading Time: 2 minutes Following its U.S. arm’s move this spring, McDonald’s now plans to source only chicken raised without medically important antibiotics for its restaurants in Canada by the end of 2018. And Canada’s chicken producer group says the Canadian chain’s move dovetails with a direction the Canadian industry was headed already. “McDonald’s believes antibiotics have important benefits, […] Read more
McDonald’s stock hits record high as turnaround takes hold
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. shares hit an all-time high on Thursday after CEO Steve Easterbrook said a rebound in quarterly restaurant sales showed his turnaround plan is starting to work. Global sales at established restaurants were up a much better-than-expected four per cent in the third quarter, ending six straight quarters of flat or falling […] Read more
Subway shifting all U.S. meat supplies to no antibiotics, ever
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Sandwich chain Subway will start serving antibiotic-free chicken and turkey at its U.S. restaurants next year, and within the next nine years will stop selling any meat from animals given antibiotics, the company said Tuesday. Rivals such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald’s have announced similar supply-chain shifts, adding pressure on […] Read more
Consumers want sustainable beef, but defining that may be murky
Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada –– McDonald’s plans on using sustainable beef by 2016, and intends on sourcing at least part of it from Canadian producers. The fast food giant’s latest step toward sustainability is to define what exactly that means. Defining sustainability is important, according to a beef brand officer, because in some cases it’s something consumers […] Read more
McDonald’s to offer first-ever organic burger, in Germany
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s will offer its first-ever 100 per cent organic beef hamburger for a limited time in Germany, as a growing number of global diners demand food that is more natural and less processed. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 18 McDonald’s will offer “McB” burgers, made with organic beef sourced from organic farms in […] Read more
McDonald’s cage-free egg pledge pressures farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — This month’s pledge by McDonald’s Corp. to phase out eggs laid by caged hens in its North American restaurants will increase competition for limited supplies of cage-free eggs. The ban, which follows similar moves by Burger King and food services company Sodexo, carries higher costs that may, at least initially, sting farmers. For […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
